Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law yesterday (8 June) an amnesty for people who illegally spirited funds out of the country, hoping to counter the capital flight that has contributed to the country's economic crisis.

The Group of Seven (G7) leaders vowed at a summit in the Bavarian Alps on Sunday to keep sanctions against Russia in place until President Vladimir Putin and Moscow-backed separatists fully implement the terms of a peace deal for Ukraine.

Ukraine's government needs to investigate and prosecute corruption at all levels and implement difficult political reforms to retain the support of the United States, US Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday (27 May).

Lithuania launched a military exercise on Wednesday (6 May) to simulate an attack on its new gas terminal, a move its strongly anti-Moscow president said was intended to show the Kremlin that the tiny country would defend itself.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke out yesterday (14 April) against Russia's decision to prepare to deliver missile systems to Iran, before a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the northern German city of Lübeck.

Russia paved the way Monday (13 April) for missile system deliveries to Iran, and started an oil-for-goods swap, signalling that Moscow may have a head-start in the race to benefit from an eventual lifting of sanctions on Tehran.

Russia has made constructive moves in recent days towards reducing tensions in Ukraine, US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday (16 December), and he raised the possibility that Washington could lift sanctions if Moscow keeps taking positive steps.

On December 1, 2014 Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would abandon construction of an ambitious $40 billion project - the South Stream gas pipeline. Hedvika Koďousková and Martin Jirušek comment on the wider context of this decision.

The United States told the United Nations Security Council yesterday (12 November) there needs to be greater international pressure on Russia to abide by a ceasefire in Ukraine, as Russia denied it was a threat to its neighbor.

The head of Hungary's tax authority, Ildikó Vida, and several of her colleagues are among six people the US government has banned from entry into the United States over alleged corruption, Vida told a newspaper today (5 November).

EU diplomats reached a preliminary agreement on Monday (28 July) on a list of associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and companies that will face sanctions as part of tougher measures over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, EU sources said.

President Barack Obama dismissed yesterday (5 June) any prospect that he might intervene to help BNP Paribas bank, which risks losing one of its most senior executives over US allegations of sanctions busting.

Speaking to journalists after the G7 Summit in Brussels on Thursday, US President Barack Obama said that world leaders “will have the chance to see what Mr. Putin does over the next 2,3.4 weeks and if he remains on the current course, we have already indicated the kinds of actions that we are prepared to take.”

EU governments reached a preliminary agreement yesterday (7 May) to expand the legal criteria for targeting people and companies with sanctions to pressure Russia over Ukraine, paving the way for new listings as early as Monday, diplomats said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday (29 April) that Moscow saw no need for counter sanctions against the West, but could reconsider the participation of Western companies in its economy, including energy projects.

Pro-Russian rebels paraded European monitors they are holding captive in eastern Ukraine Sunday (27 April), freeing one, but saying they had no plans to release another seven, as the United States and Europe prepared new sanctions against Moscow.

Russia has not fulfilled its part of an international agreement to defuse tension in Ukrainem and Washington will only wait "days" more for the accord to be implemented, a senior US official said Wednesday (23 April).